Welcome! Meet the team
Dr. Lauren E Kelly
Dr. Lauren E Kelly is a Pharmacologist, Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Manitoba and Certified Clinical Research Professional. She is a Clinical Trialist at the George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation, Clinical Trials Director and Scientist at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, and the Director at Increasing capacity for Maternal and Paediatric Clinical Trials (IMPaCT). Dr. Kelly received her Doctorate in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Western Ontario and completed two post-doctoral fellowships at the Hospital for Sick Children and Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Dr. Kelly is the PI for the Clinical Pharmacology Lab and co-supervises graduate students with both Drs. Leong and ‘tJong.
Dr. Christine Leong
Dr. Leong is an Assistant Professor at the College of Pharmacy with a Cross Appointment at the Department of Psychiatry, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Leong received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Toronto and her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from the University of Manitoba. She practices as a clinical pharmacist at an interprofessional teaching family medicine clinic.
Dr. Geert t’Jong
Dr. ‘t Jong is a general pediatrician, focusing on the care of Northern, Indigenous, and underprivileged children, running clinics through Children’s Clinic with a dynamic team of colleagues. Dr. ‘t Jong is also a clinical pharmacologist and pediatrician, whose research focuses on pharmacology in pediatrics, including pharmaco-epidemiology and clinical trials.
Trainees
Manik Chhabra
Manik Chhabra’s background is in clinical pharmacology- he completed his PharmD from IK Gujral Punjab Technical University. Currently, he is doing a PhD in Pharmacology & Therapeutics from the University of Manitoba under the supervision of Dr. Lauren Kelly. His research is focused on dose-ranging studies of Cannabis in children with chronic daily headaches and for cancer symptoms management. In addition, he has a keen interest in pharmacoepidemiological research, systematic literature review and network meta-analysis.
Clarisse Romera
Clarisse completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Manitoba. Currently she is in her first year of the MSc program in the College of Pharmacy. Her research is focused on linking data from Addictions Foundation of Manitoba to administrative databases at Manitoba Centre for Health Policy to understand and describe trends in substance use among individuals who sought treatment for addictions in Manitoba.
Danielle Hart
Danielle is completing her Masters of Science focusing on community engagement and identifying and reducing barriers in research for people who use opioids in their pregnancy. Danielle completed her Bachelor of Science from the University of Manitoba in 2018 and found her passion in working with individuals struggling with mental health, housing, addictions, and colonial trauma. Her work experience and education have complimented a deep understanding of the social determinants of health and have ignited a strong passion to advocate and work towards social justice. Danielle is particularly interested in the inequities of the criminal justice system and in supporting people experiencing conflict with the law.
Omaymah Abulannaz
Omaymah Abulannaz is a third year PhD student. She a bachelor’s degree in dentistry; however, she decided to switch gears and pursue graduate studies in pharmacology. She is highly motivated to be involved in projects, which aim to improve neonatal, child and maternal health. Her research project is on investigating the long-term health effects of opioid exposure during pregnancy and lactation. Her research interests are Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS), medical cannabis, and clinical trials.
Staff
Zina Zaslawski
Zina joined the team in September 2019 as a Research Coordinator. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Manitoba and a Masters of Arts from Queen’s University. She has several years experience supporting research teams in various disciplines. Currently, she is supporting lab research projects and coordinating communications. In this role, Zina also splits her time as a Knowledge Broker for the Canadian Childhood Cannabinoid Clinical Trials (C4T).
Sophia Mbabaali
Sophia started working with Dr. Kelly’s team as a Research Coordinator in May 2021. Prior to this, she held various positions as a research coordinator and research assistant in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, the Department of Physical Therapy and the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Manitoba. Sophia holds a Bachelor of Kinesiology and a Master of Arts (Kinesiology), with a focus on Sport Psychology from the University of Manitoba.
Liza Latta
Liza is an experienced office assistant who has been working with the George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation since 2018. Liza provides invaluable administrative support to Dr. Kelly and her research team.
Jessica Steer
Jess joined the team as a Research Coordinator in July 2023. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology from the University of Winnipeg. She has experience as a Research Coordinator and Research Assistant in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Manitoba and the Department of Psychology at the University of Winnipeg.
